While You Were Gone
by wingedauthoress14
Summary: With Dumbledore gone and Death Eaters taking over Hogwarts, it's up to Neville, Ginny, and the rest of Dumbledore's Army to summon the courage and strength needed to overcome the darkness that is slowly overtaking the castle and the world.
1. Chapter 1

It had been exactly one month since the wedding. One month since she had seen him. One month since his lips touched hers. Ginny Weasley peered out of the windows of the Hogwarts Express and sighed. She missed his presence. The feel of his rough hand sliding its way into hers and clasping it tightly. Her heart ached for their last peaceful days at Hogwarts together, when they spent their days lounging out near the lake or cuddled up on a sofa in the Gryffindor common room. She had absolutely no idea what he could be up to now, but whatever it was, he had _better_ be safe. All of them.

"Oh, hello Ginny," a soft voice spoke from the door. "May we come in and sit with you?" Luna Lovegood, her radish earrings dangling wildly from each ear with each bump from the train stood at the entrance to the cabin with Neville Longbottom, each carrying a trunk.

"Sure," Ginny looked away from the window, smiling, if a little half- heartedly. "How've you two been? Had a nice summer?"

"Oh yes," said Luna enthusiastically, stowing her luggage beneath her seat and handing both Neville and Ginny a copy of_ The Quibbler. _"Daddy and I went on a wonderful holiday to Albania on the search for Goobersmoofs; they're supposed to be incredibly rare, but, if you suck on their quills, they're supposed to give you mind- reading abilities!"

"Ew…" Neville muttered, grinning at Ginny who said:

"Luna, are you really sure-"

"I promise you, they're real!" Luna said earnestly, fastening a pair of neon Spectrespecs onto her face, peering into the magazine. "And for your information, Neville, Daddy says the quills taste like pumpkin juice, so there," she finished this tirade by holding the magazine closely to her eyes and began reading.

Ginny turned to Neville. "So what about you? Had a good summer?"

"Oh yeah," Neville mused, casting a look out of the window at the cloudy skies. "Yeah, Gran's really lightened up on me; said I might even be able to take her on in a duel some time." He and Ginny both broke out into laughter. "Though," Neville said, chuckling, "I dunno if I really could take her; you wouldn't know it by looking at her, but she can be tough when she wants to be."

"All right," Ginny giggled, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"So you've been all right? How was your break?"

"It was…" Ginny searched for a word "interesting. A lot happened."

"What d'you mean?" Neville asked. Luna put down her magazine and stared at Ginny through her odd- looking glasses.

"Oh, are you going to tell him about the Death Eaters at your brother's wedding, Ginny?"

"What!" Neville exclaimed, "I never heard about-"

"Shhh!" Ginny whispered, looking quickly at the compartment door. Pulling out her wand, she whispered: "_Muffliato" _

"What did you just-"

"It's a spell I picked up from Hermione," she explained quickly. "Anyways, you need to keep this quiet…" as Ginny explained everything that had happened the day of Bill and Fleur's wedding, Neville's eyes kept getting wider.

After her anecdote, he whispered: "So _that's _why I didn't see those three on the train! They're off fighting You- Know- Who! You both know what this means, don't you?" Ginny and Luna stared at Neville with determination and energy burning brightly in their eyes.

"We need to keep the DA up and running- in case they return," Ginny said in a low voice, pulling out the gold Galleon used for communication between members. "It's our turn to step up now," she said, turning the coin over in her fingers.

"Yeah," Neville grinned, "when do you reckon the first meeting should be?"

As Ginny and Neville discussed future dates for the Army, Luna stared outside the window.

"Does anyone else feel a bit cold?" she asked her two companions, her breath became visible as she spoke.

"It does feel chilly…" Ginny mused as she hugged her arms to herself. "and… sad. Almost like in second year when the Ministry sent dementors to the school because of Sirius…" the three looked at each other with dread.

"Not again," Neville whispered hoarsely, his eyes glaring at the floor of the compartment.

"It's not all bad," Luna tried to smile. "Remember when Harry taught us the Patronus charm? I think I can do it fairly well by now…" and with that, Luna took her want out of her bag, closed her eyes and smiled for a moment before pointing her wand and whispering:

"Expecto Patronum,"

From the tip of her wand, burst a white rabbit that hopped energetically around the compartment. Its presence made Ginny and Neville smile.

"Here, I think I've got some chocolate in my bag," Ginny dug through her purse and pulled out a small bar of chocolate and broke it off in pieces, handing them to the other two.

"Thank you, Ginny," Luna bit into her piece and smiled. "Still not as tasty as Goobersmoof quills, but it will do."

"Yeah, thanks," Neville said to the red head, "looks like we'll make a pretty decent team this year,"

"I hope so," she replied, "though it doesn't look like it'll be easy with dementors already closing in on the castle."

"Oh come on," Neville chortled, "whoever said fun would be easy?"

A/N: Hello everybody! Just so you all know, I already had this fanfiction uploaded but I deleted it and edited it and so hopefully it's better and I hope you enjoy it. Please review and thank you all so much for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everybody! I just would like to send my thanks to those who read the story and to gackt groupie for reviewing. I appreciate the feedback! I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter!**

The one thought that crossed Ginny's mind as she entered into the threshold was that Hogwarts was most definately not the same. Despite the thousands of candles flickering merrily above the four tables in the Great Hall, there was something subdued about the atmosphere. Normally, the feast to welcome back the students would be a jovial occasion, but tonight, the meal was eaten with more mumbling than talking and with more side glances up at the professor's table, most of which were directed towards the brother and sister, Alecto and Amycus Carrow.

Squat and lumpy Amycus sat, shoveling food into his mouth, spattering those unfortunate enough to be sitting near him. His sister Alecto, though she had much in common as far as looks with her brother, barely touched her food. Instead, she stared around the dining hall, glaring and smiling viciously to whatever student who was unlucky enough to catch her glare.

Most noticeably, in the place of their beloved headmaster sat the hook nosed and bat- like ex- potions professor, Severus Snape, surveying the students while poking stoically at his shepard's pie.

"It's toned down a bit this year, hasn't it?" Neville whispered to Ginny.

"Yeah, no kidding," Ginny murmured back, her eyes flickering up to the staff table then back down at her plate where her fork rested on her untouched chicken. The airtight atmosphere was tinged with anxiety and fear- much more than she was expecting. "Seems like we're going to have our hands full from the looks of the new teachers," she nodded up to the head table and whispered, "if anyone looked like a Death Eater, it's those two." Neville nodded in grim agreement.

"Yeah- definitely," the seventh year had known all too well the many faces evil could possess. As he stared down into his plate, memories of the battles with Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic began forming in his mind. That night, he met his parent's torturer and was tortured by her as well. Her cold eyes, the smile that only held the happiness she felt when she was slowly killing...

"Oy, Neville? You awake?" Ginny poked him in the arm with her fork.

"Ah- yeah, sorry Ginny," Neville shook himself out of the dark corners of his mind and asked her to repeat what she had said before.

"I said, do you reckon those coins we used last year still work?" Ginny asked casually, if a little impatiently.

"They probably do. We'll try them out later; although I'm not so sure it'd be a good idea to recruit any new people just yet. First years are too young, and it could get messy if word gets out we're starting up the DA again." The red head nodded.

"Yea- best to just gather all the veterans. Anyone else who wants to join will know probably about us soon enough."

At this point, the new headmaster stood and what little noise the room had ended in a hush.

"As you may have already realized," he began "Hogwarts will be undergoing a multitude of changes this year." He then gestured to the Carrow siblings and introduced them. "Professor Alecto Carrow will be overseeing the course of Muggle Studies while Professor Amycus Carrow will teach… Defense Against the Dark Arts."

A small smattering of applause- most of it coming from the Slytherine table- rose into the air. Snape did not have long to pause before silence ensued once more.

"Dementors," he continued "will be monitoring the grounds outside of Hogwarts. I will only warn you once not to leave the grounds, lest the dementors think you a threat and attack. Also," He said as he walked to the front of the head table, took out his wand, and waved it. With a whoosh, all of the candles above the students' heads went out and the only light that remained came from scarcely placed torches mounted on the walls. "because of new security reasons, any broken rules shall result in severe consequences. The Dark Lord is upon us; I daresay none of you should be very…careless," and with this, he slashed his wand through the air and the doors to the Great Hall opened with a bang. "You are all dismissed," he said in his monotonous voice.

Ginny risked looking up at the head table once more before getting up. Hagrid was absent, _probably in his cabin, _she thought assuredly. McGonagall looked tense yet angry at the same time. She took a moment to glare at Snape before turning her attention away to talk to Professor Flitwick. Snape shrewdly overlooked the student body as they filed out under his orders. With a sigh, Ginny got up and followed the rest of the students out of the hall.

"…can't believe it," came the complaints of a few second years, "we didn't even get to the dessert!"

"I reckon missed dessert won't be complained about for long," Neville said darkly to Ginny as Luna caught up to them. "Did you see him? The way he was talking?"

"It was quite threatening," Luna piped up "what do you suppose he meant when he was talking about severe consequences?"

"Dunno, but I doubt it's anything to be taken lightly," Ginny said, looking back and spotting the teachers beginning to leave the hall as well, "c'mon- we'd better keep moving."

The two Gryffindors said goodbye to Luna once they had reached the Fat Lady and climbed through the portrait hole. Once in the common room, Ginny flopped down onto an armchair and pulled out the gold coin used to communicate between all of the members of Dumbledore's Army.

"Well," she looked up at Neville who sank onto the couch beside her, "let's hope this works." She carefully inscribed a time and date for the first meeting and felt the coin become hot. Neville reached into his pocket and looked at the coin, smiling.

"Still works- brilliant!"

"So now that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are gone it's going to have to be up to us to continue the DA," Ginny said, her eyes blazing with determination. "What should we teach first?"

"I think we should move onto dueling," Neville proposed, "go over some basic spells first, then duel."

"I think that's a good idea. We'll probably start needing to know how to duel- even if it's just for our own protection," Ginny nodded in agreement, "then we'll go from there and take suggestions from other members to see what else we should do."

Flushed with excitement and determination, the two bid each other goodnight. Neither had any idea what this new year at Hogwarts would have in store for them.

**A/N: So there's the end of the second chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! At this point, I feel as though it's going a bit slower than I want it to but I'll try to update as frequently as I can. Again, thank you all for reading and please leave a review! Any helpful feedback is appreciated! Thank you!  
>-shadowofnothing14<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey everybody! I'm back for chapter 3! I would like to give a BIG thank you and an enormous virtual cookie to M. A. Wyandotte, northstar9195, gackt groupie, and Yreva13 for reviewing. Your reviews mean so much to me- thank you so much for taking the time to leave your opinions! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 3!

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><p>Students woke to a cloudy first day back at Hogwarts. There was tentative talking in the dining hall, many discussing about their classes while almost all looked to the ceiling for the owls to come pouring in with news of their families.<p>

Ginny surveyed her schedule over her bowl of cereal. _Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Ruins, Potions, and Herbology._ Not a bad schedule; but she was a bit anxious about her DADA class, what with Carrow teaching and all. Ancient Ruins also seemed tricky, but Hermione told her it was really interesting and even left her some of her notes. She looked up as Neville sat next to her and tucked in with a piece of toast and some eggs.

"What's your schedule like this term?" she asked, reaching for her pumpkin juice.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Muggle Studies, and Herbology," he recited as he picked up his fork.

"Oh, Herbology- of course," Ginny said chuckling a little, "we can't forget that one."

"Well it's my best subject- it wouldn't do much good to forget about it," Neville replied back with a grin. Ginny suddenly looked taken aback and piped up:

"But wait- you have each of the Carrows- how on earth are you going to deal with that?" He waved his fork in the air, trying to look more nonchalant than he felt. Before either of them could say more, owls began pouring into the Great Hall, smattering tables with letters, parcles, and brown- papered packages from home. A letter landed square on Ginny's bowl, thankfully missing the milk and dregs of cereal at the bottom.

"Anything to report?" Neville asked tentatively, thankful when Ginny shook her head.

"Nope; Mum says everything is normal at home, though still no word from those three," Neville nodded.

"Alright, well I guess that's a good thing, isn't it? And don't worry about my classes with the Carrows. It'll be fine; I'll let you know how it turns out later," Ginny shot him a concerned look before packing up her schedule and getting up.

"Alright. I've got class now, but I'll talk to you later."

"Sure- see you," Neville waved her off, trying to maintain a calm façade while his insides squirmed around like he had swallowed a Flutterby bush instead of toast.

"Oh hello, Neville," before he could shoo away his nerves, he was greeted by Luna. "You look like you could use a friend about now," she sat down on the bench and smiled. He nodded, trying to smile back.

"Just thinking about how classes are going to go this term."

"Hopefully just as interesting as ever. Maybe this term, we'll learn about Wocky Pockies! They're fascinating creatures who climb into people's pockets and steal whatever's in them." Luna said, "But even if we don't talk about those, I still have Defense Against the Dark Arts with Ginny- so that's nice. Oh," she said, upon realization, "the coins still work- I got your message last night-"

"Yeah, we found out last night that they work; probably a good idea to not mention the coins very much," Neville said in a low voice.

"Oh yes, of course," Luna said, smiling apologetically. "When does your first class start?"

"Pretty soon- I should be heading out," Neville said, tucking his schedule back into his bag and getting up. Luna followed suite.

"I'll be going too; my class is going to start soon," Neville bade Luna goodbye outside of the Great Hall and walked quickly to the familiar corridor where all of his DADA classes had been.

A few students had gathered in the classroom and taken their seats. Their books and wands were out. Some of them were doodling on spare parchment while others talked to their friends. Neville, seeing no one he knew, sat down at an empty table and got out his book, his wand, some parchment, and a quill. After settling himself, he looked around the classroom.

By the looks of it, Carrow had the same sense of style as Snape when it came to décor. Pictures and scenes depicting people in pain or dead were mounted on the walls. A list of various means of torturing victims was posted on the wall behind the teacher's desk and dark curtains had been drawn on all of the windows so the air felt dank and cold. The only sources of light came from sconces that held small flames and had been placed, scattered, on the walls. Neville sighed, feeling quite alone until he felt a hand clap him on the shoulder.

"Dean!" he smiled up at his fellow seventh year.

"Neville! How've you been, mate?" Dean Thomas dropped his bag and sat down, pulling out his book.

"Fine, fine- you?" Neville asked eagerly, glad to have someone he actually knew in the same class with him.

"Oh, not bad. This year should be…well, interesting for lack of any other words," he grinned nervously.

"Yeah; definitely interesting," Neville nodded, a grin spreading across his face as well.

The classroom filled quickly and soon the room echoed with the sounds of nervous chatter and the clatter of quills and wands on the wood tables. All sounds vanished, however, upon the door to the classroom slamming open. Rows of students turned around to look at Professor Amycus Carrow as he strode down the desks. He reached his desk and turned back to look at his class. His eyes glossed over the books placed in front of the students.

"What the bloody 'ell is this rubbish?" he asked, approaching a Ravenclaw girl's desk and picking up her text.

"It's o-our book," she answered quietly. Neville couldn't blame her for stuttering; thus far, Carrow was proving more intimidating than perhaps he gave him credit for.

"A book?" He asked incredulously, holding it by its back cover, letting the pages fall. He grabbed at them and tore as he spoke. "In…this…class…there…will…be…no…books," and with that, he threw the pages he had left in his hand at the Ravenclaw who flinched. "In fact," he said, a wide smile appearing on his face, "our first lesson will be a demonstration- of how things in this class will be run." He picked up a list of names and read off:

"Crabbe! Get up here." The scraping of chairs and the shuffle of feet were the only noises in the room. Everyone else was dead silent.

"Now," Amycus said, his eyes glinting with malice, "choose one person on which to use an Unforgivable Curse." Neville knew everybody's eyes would be shifting down, trying to avoid being chosen. But to his surprise, Hannah Abbot spoke up from the middle of the rows.

"You can't do that- Unforgivable Curses are illegal." Her words were terse and short but beneath them was a twinge of fear. He could hear it; he just hoped no one else did. She knew, Neville thought, of the danger she was putting herself in.

"Brilliant," Amycus's grin stretched across his face. "You'll be the first to help demonstrate our little duel Miss…"

"Abbot," she said her name as she stood.

"Abbot…yes…" his eyes gained a look of recognition and his eyes glinted viciously. Hannah made her way to the front of the room, her wand held tightly as she faced Crabbe.

"Well don't keep us waiting, Crabby- let's see what you've got!" Amycus laughed. Crabbe nodded and raised his wand.

"Cru-"

"Expelliarmus!" Hannah cried, sending Crabbe's wand flying away from him. Several students clapped; Neville, joining in, felt an enormous rush of pride for Hannah and for all the work she had done in the DA in their fifth year.

"No, no, no!" Amycus yelled at Crabbe who got his wand back at once. "Accio wand!" he pointed his wand at Hannah whose wand flew from her hands and into his. She looked at him, panicked.

"What are you-"

"Crucio!" Crabbe's curse hit Hannah and she fell to the floor, her high- pitched screams echoing in the dungeon along with Slytherin students jeering. Even after the noise all stopped, Neville's ears still rang with her yells. He felt himself shaking- but not with fear. Previous years and instances flashed through his mind's eye of Crabbe and Goyle and Malfoy terrorizing him when he was younger, bullying him and belittling him, but never before had his anger toward Crabbe been greater. He saw Crabbe raise his wand to curse her again. Before he could stop himself, Neville stood quickly, shouting:

"Protego!"

The shield spell was so strong, it sent Crabbe flying into the wall behind him. Adrenaline was pumping hard through Neville's heart, so much so, that he barely heard the cheers from his classmates or felt the clap on his back from Dean. He walked up to Hannah and put an arm across her shoulders.

"You okay?" he asked. She nodded and got up.

"Longbottom!" Amycus yelled, and Neville looked up to see a look of irritation on his face, "congratulations. You get to be the first student to receive a detention. Meet me here tonight at eight o'clock! Class dismissed!"

Chairs scrapped and students scrambled to gather their things. It didn't seem to matter to them that only twenty minutes had passed in the class, and they certainly weren't going to speak out against it.

"I'm fine- you don't have to keep holding onto me, you know," Hannah told Neville as he helped her stand Slightly embarrassed, he let go.

"Right- sorry. You just seemed like you could use a hand," she smiled, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

"Thank you, Neville. You're very sweet." They each collected their things and hurried out of the classroom.

As Hannah turned to go down another corridor, Neville reached into his pocket and pulled out his gold coin.

"Hannah- hey, Hannah, wait!" She stopped and turned around to find him running after her. "I just…" he panted, "I wanted to know if you were coming to the DA meeting. You were incredible today."

Surprised and perplexed, she said: "Yeah, I'll be there," and smiled slightly. It was then Neville noticed the streaks of dried tears on her cheeks.

"Will you be okay?" The question tumbled out of his clumsy lips, but Hannah only nodded and gave a small smile.

"Yeah; you don't need to worry about me, Neville," and with that, she turned to go. The rest of the morning, Neville tried to satiate himself with her answer but was unable to get her tear streaked face to leave his mind.

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><p>AN: Hey everybody! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all like the story so far- I'm really enjoying writing it. Please leave a review if you liked it or if you see something you would like changed. Thank you again to all of my loyal readers and reviewers!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello my fellow readers and writers. I have to ask: have you ever written something and it seemed fine and then you looked back on it a while later and realized that what you wrote kind of sounded like crap? Oh god, am I having one of those moments haha. Hopefully this chapter is a bit better (it should be as I'm not writing it at 3 in the morning) :P Enjoy!

WARNING! STRONG LANGUAGE!

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><p>The collective mood inside of Hogwarts was darker than it had ever been. Though it was only early autumn, the air was cold and so tense, Ginny could have sworn that if she had a tuning fork, it would have started to hum on its own.<p>

As she walked to and from classes on her first day, she kept noticing new rules being hung on the walls, reminiscent of Umbridge's decrees. Students were no longer allowed to linger in the halls, nor were they allowed to go anywhere outside of classes or dormitories without having a written excuse from a teacher.

Ginny passed the newly framed rules and sighed. She should have known Hogwarts would be radically different since she had been there last, but blimey, she hadn't been prepared for this term to be so depressing.

As she walked to her next class, she passed by Filch who was hammering a nail into yet another framed rule. Ordinarily, she would have kept going, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught the word "Quidditch" and stopped dead, trying to see around Filch. In Snape's spiky lettering, she read:

due to the multitude of dementors wandering around Hogsmeade, The sport of Quiddictch is to be cancelled until further notice.

"What the bloody fuck?" the words came out of Ginny's mouth before she had a chance to recall them and, seeing Filch turn his angry gaze on her, scurried out of sight. She turned the corner and, of course, almost ran face- first into the bugger himself, Snape who looked just as surprised as she upon her flighty entrance.

"Miss Weasely, as I'm sure you are already aware, there is to be no running in the hallways. The next time you are caught, you _will_ receive… detention." She looked up at him and met his eye, nodding.

"Yes sir," and went on her way, the opposite direction from Filch and Snape, without looking back.

When she made her way farther away from the loathsome headmaster, she sighed morosely. If she missed anything about Hogwarts, it was the Quidditch; she loved the fast pace of the game, the chase for the Quaffle. She yearned for the leathery smell of her gloves and the lemony scent of broomstick polish, but most of all, she missed soaring hard into the air with nothing but the wind at her back and the sunlit clouds ahead. Up there, she was able to let go of all her other anxieties and worries.

She gave another sigh before shaking off her run- in with Snape and her sadness about Quidditch and became more focused as she entered into Transfiguration.

Even though things in the castle had turned to a dire state, Ginny saw how her professors tried to make the best of the unfortunate situation they were in. Professor Flitwick had Ginny's class begin with practicing Cheering Charms before moving on to more difficult material and while Ginny knew Professor McGonagall wouldn't lighten the work load any, and was no less strict in her expectations of the students' behavior. However, her summons to the youngest Weasley at the end of the class came as a surprise.

"Miss Weasely," the professor sat behind her desk, organizing various papers on her desk before setting her eyes on her pupil. "I just received word on Professor Snape's newest decree; that the forming of clubs and groups for after- class enjoyment is prohibited for the entire year," Ginny kept her face at a polite curiosity, trying to hide the worry that, for an instant, clenched her insides. She knew McGonagall would never alert Snape to the reformation of the DA- she would even try to lure him away from it if she had to- but in case they were being watched, she decided it was best to swallow her worry. Taking a deep breath, she replied calmly:

"Thank you, professor. Although I have to admit, the idea of not having Quidditch hit me the hardest," she could have imagined it, but Ginny could have sworn she saw a small smile flash across her professor's face before it was replaced with a more serious look.

"Just so you are well aware, Miss Weasely. These are dangerous times and you must be careful. I would rather you and the rest of the students be prepared- for the changes in the rules. You are dismissed." Startled by the abrupt end to the small appointment, Ginny nodded quickly and picked up her bag and walked out, her growling stomach begging her for a spot of lunch before her next class.

_Later..._

"Oh hello, Ginny- all finished with lunch?" Luna greeted Ginny outside of the Great Hall after a quick lunch. She was smiling despite the moping among their fellow students, and sported earrings with pairs of fluttering butterfly wings on each ear. Ginny peered at them for a moment or two before replying:

"Yeah; you ready for our DADA class?" Luna nodded and clutched her schoolbooks closely to her chest, either with eagerness or nerves.

"I wonder how Neville's Defense Against the Dark Arts class went this morning."

Ginny shrugged, "dunno- but hopefully it didn't go too badly. I'll ask him about it later tonight if I see him." As the two made their way towards the usual DADA classroom, she began to feel the gnawing of worry start again, but ignored it as best she could. Dear lord- since when had she been a worrier? She shook it off as best she could as they entered the classroom.

The room was dank and dark, save for the grey light cast by a few open windows at the head of the classroom; the cold had seeped in, chilling everything. The torches on the walls did nothing to warm the room. The room was already partially filled and more students were filing in. As Ginny sat down, she rubbed her arms quickly to try and retain warmth. She saw next to her how Luna pulled her robes closer to her.

"It's awfully cold in here, isn't it?" Luna whispered to her companion, who nodded.

"Let's just hope it'll go by fast. This is my last class for the day so I can just go back to my room and put on my jumper and fuzzy slippers."

Luna giggled, "that's the same for me- I can't wait to go warm up with a cup of Rumblerouse tea."

Ginny nodded, smiling, though unsure what exactly Rumblerouse tea was. The two had no time to talk more, however, as Amycus stomped into the room and, once he had approached his desk, turned around to face his class.

"Right," he glared at all of them, a hard scowl on his mouth. "I want all the Mudbloods up. All of you!" About three students stood- some more shakily than others. Once all were standing, he spoke again.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are? 'Ere you are, stupid muggle- borns in my class- I want all of you the bloody hell out of here! If you don't get out of here, I'll report you to the Ministry! Have that bloody Umbridge sort you out then, yeah."

In an instant, the three students fled, leaving pieces of parchment flying in their wake. While they ran, Amycus laughed wildly and started waving his wand at their backs, making desks fly up and exploding bits of the classroom wall, making them run even faster. Now smirking, Amycus turned his eyes to the rest of the class.

"Take out your wands and get up- all of you! I want you to duel. But you're only allowed to use the Imperius curse," he looked around at the students who were still glued to their seats.

"What are you waiting for? Up! NOW!"

Some quickly stood while clutching their wands while others did so more slowly. There was, indeed, trepidation for this activity, as everyone knew it would involve using an illegal curse, but no one spoke out.

_At least it's not the Cruciatus curse, _Ginny thought thankfully as the students partnered up. She turned and faced Luna. Suddenly, she felt a sense of dread. She didn't want to face Luna- to curse her and force her to do terrible things…

"It'll be okay, Ginny," Luna whispered to her, as though she could read Ginny's mind, "we just won't make each other do bad things."

The red head nodded, smiling a little to try and relieve some of the tension.

"Begin to duel! Blimey, 'ow many times do I have to say it?" Amycus shouted impatiently at them. The students began, some having their partners do harmless things, while other students under the curse were subjected to climbing the walls, punching themselves in the faces, or, worst, standing on the ledges of the open windows.

Ginny and Luna were fairing well thus far, however; Luna had Ginny jump up and down for a minute or so and Ginny had Luna put away a few pieces of parchment. Then suddenly, without warning, they were interrupted by Amycus who snatched Ginny's wand from her.

"Stupid girls! That's not how you use the Imperius curse! Let _me _show you how it's done!" He pointed Ginny's wand at Luna and shouted: "Imperio!"

Ginny watched in horror as Luna raised her hands up to her ears and violently pulled out her earrings, crushing the fluttering butterfly wings, making them still. The sharp end pierced her palms and made them bleed. Her ear lobes were torn, and small specks of blood were forming on the ragged edges.

"_That's _how you do an Imperius curse, you stupid little Weasley," he snarled at her while Luna broke out of the trance of the curse

"Ow…why…my earrings…" she grew wide eyed and stared at the remains her broken earrings sadly.

Amycus shoved the wand back into Ginny's hands and went back to striding around the classroom. As soon as he was out of sight, Ginny pulled Luna into a hug.

"Luna- oh my God, are you okay? That git'll pay for this- he can't get away with-"

"No, Ginny," the girl replied softly, still looking as though she was in a trance, "it won't do any good for you to get in trouble," she held her wand tightly. "Let's practice again."

It had taken all of her control not to march up to Amycus and shove his wand where the sun didn't shine, but Ginny made it to the end of class. The only thing that stopped her from casting her Bat Boegy hex on their wretched teacher was her worry about Luna and her desperate want to take her to Madam Pomfrey. Luna had been especially quiet as they packed up their things and made their way to the infirmary.

"Luna- are you alright? What he did- that was awful; if you want me to go back and get him with a good one, I-"

"No, Ginny, really," Luna gave her a small smile as they opened the doors to the infirmary, "I'm fine." She grew silent as Madam Pomfrey scurried over to them and put hands to Luna's torn ears.

"Ah- let me guess, you just had Professor Amycus," she shook her head in disgust for the teacher and ushered Luna towards a bed and had her sit while she pulled out some cotton and a vial of clear liquid. Ginny noticed that Luna held her broken earrings in her hands tenderly.

"Here," she held her hands out to Luna, "let me hold those- I think your hands are hurt too." Hesitantly, Luna handed the broken earrings to her friend. As Madam Pomfrey tutted about the unnecessary injuries, Ginny tried to fix the earrings.

"Reparo!" what was broken became mended, though the wings remained still. Ginny didn't know why they didn't continue to move like before, and didn't notice Luna was finished until she gently took the earrings back.

"Thank you," she said, trying to smile.

"No problem," Ginny said, smiling back, though still worried. Though the corners of her mouth were turned up, Luna seemed weighed down by sadness. "Luna- I'm sorry I couldn't fix them all the way; I don't know why they won't flutter like they did before."

"They were my mother's," Luna bit her lip. "She put a special charm on them. I suppose after they've been broken, they won't work anymore."

Ginny hugged her tightly, glad when Luna began to hug her back. The two stood there for a moment or so before they broke apart. Luna gave the red head a genuine smile.

"Don't worry about it, Ginny. I still have them. And I'm sure if I ask Father, he'll know the spell Mother used."

They turned and started walking towards the exit of the infirmary. Ginny put an arm around Luna's shoulders. Now that Luna was better, it was time to get back at Amycus; and she knew just how…

_Back in Amycus's classroom…_

"OY! What the bloody fu- NOOOOOO! ARE THOSE BATS OR BOOGEYS? AAARRRGHH!"

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><p>AN: Hey everybody! Sorry this chapter was a bit longer than usual, but I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading and I hope to see your reviews! I would also like to thank those of you who have reviewed and left me very helpful critiques! Thank you guys again, so much!

BY THE WAY! I have recently changed pennames, I used to be shadowofnothing14, and I am now wingedauthoress14. Just so you know!


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